And the World Burned
by DreamingCerulean
Summary: "There used to be these heroes," Chiron said. "They were going to save the world." Or rather, the war against Kronos doesn't go as expected, and almost nothing is left behind. Short one-shot, based around a prompt.


**A/N: Hello!**

 **This is basically a quick one-shot about something that might have happened if the demigods had lost to Kronos. It's somewhat based on a prompt I saw a while ago on the internet.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians.**

James had been hearing the tales ever since he could first understand words. Everyone knew the stories, some had even lived them. But that didn't make them any easier to believe.

It was absolutely absurd to think that at one point, the world hadn't been full of flames. James could only dream of that world of peace and comfort, especially when only staying alive seemed to be to great a challenge.

James hadn't known anything but terror for his entire life.

His mother had been pregnant with him when the world exploded. The past had been left behind and he had been born into a world without it. Even so, that had never stopped his fascination with that world. He used to beg his mother to tell him stories of warm sunlight and lazy Sunday mornings.

At first, James hadn't known what Sunday meant. When his mother explained that it was a specific name for a certain day, James had asked how she knew which day was which. His mother had made a pinched face and turned away.

"Back then, we had a consistent schedule, a pattern we followed every seven days. We based the name of each day based off of the previous one. Now... " She whispered quietly. "I can't remember. Today could be Sunday, the Fourth of July, it could be my wedding anniversary, and I wouldn't know."

James hadn't pushed any further. He tried to ignore the glistening tears in his mother's eyes.

He had wanted to see this other world, to live in it, to breathe the freedom and safety so easily he could forget any possible moment when he hadn't had it.

He had wanted to see this other world, one where strange creatures didn't roam the empty, burning fields, where the wreckage of buildings wasn't littered across the ground, where hunger wasn't so common a friend.

That world sounded so perfect. It was almost impossible to imagine how that world had turned into this one.

Once, while out searching for food, he had pointed out a strange box of metal to his mother. She had squealed in delight when she saw it.

"A car!" She said, excitedly. "Oh! I remember when I first learned to drive these things! My friends and I used to drive around for hours. That's how I met your father, you know. At a drive-in movie."

James had heard about cars, but he hadn't seen one before. He made a mental note to ask more about them later, but for now, put that aside in favor of watching his mother. It was nice to see her so happy, after all the sorrow that she had been through. His mother's smiles were rare, something that had to be treasured. They only came when she was thinking of his father, or when she was thinking about the past.

That world couldn't be fake. Too many people had spoken about it. It would have been impossible for so many people to hallucinate a world where life wasn't a constant struggle.

James knew that, and yet that world still seemed untouchable. An unrealistic goal that everyone wanted the world to be like. A utopia.

And yet, it still gave James hope. If life had actually been that good back then, then that meant it could probably be good again. He just had to make it there, and give the world some time to recover.

For now, it was all James could hold on to.

That hope had stuck with him, even now, when he was crawling along on the ground, praying the monsters in the next room didn't hear him.

He had snuck out, without telling his mother. In hindsight, it was a stupid thing to do, but he had wanted to do something nice for her. It had been a while since she had looked happy, and he had been hoping to scavenge a couple of materials for a gift for her.

She loved anything he made her, and he loved making her happy. No one deserved to be that sad.

He had taken a different route home, and found a building that was still standing. Those were rare, and James couldn't have helped himself. Now, he was wishing that he had more self-control.

He glanced up through a broken window at the position of the sun. His mother had to be awake by now. She would know he was missing.

He couldn't die here. He wouldn't let himself bring her any more pain, especially when she was still mourning the loss of his father.

A sudden shriek of pain startled him from his thoughts, and he flinched back against the wall. James hesitantly peered through the nearby doorway.

A group of monsters was laughing hysterically, all surrounding an object towards the center of the room. James pulled himself back quickly, trying to make himself invisible. The beasts slowly lumbered out of the doorway and headed into another nearby room without noticing him.

James released his breath quietly, before peeking back into the room.

A cage was placed in the middle of the room, with no visible doors or locks, like it had been built around the creature. Blood was splattered across the floor. A creature was lying on the floor inside, motionless.

James eyed it carefully, before moving slowly inside the room. He wasn't sure what moved him to try and help, but he crossed the room regardless.

He approached the cage, looking down at the being. It was more human than the other monsters, but the second half of him didn't look human at all. It didn't look to be quite monster either, but James couldn't be sure.

Without warning, the beast's eyes flickered open, landing on James. James barely managed to silence a cry of shock, and scooted backwards away from the cage on his hands.

The monster looked at him with warm brown eyes.

"Child, you shouldn't be here," He whispered, softly.

James looked around warily, before sliding back up to the cage. His instincts were screaming at him to back away, but he couldn't.

Not after such kind eyes were in terrible pain. Something about his aura was comforting. Everything seemed safe, even if the situation was one of the most dangerous ones he had ever found himself in.

He sat in front of the cage, facing the doorway, so he could see if anyone came in.

"What are you?" James asked, quietly. "You don't look like a monster, but you also don't look human."

The beast laughed. "I am a centaur. It's sort of like a monster, but I don't plan on hurting you."

James smiled back at him. "Are you okay?" He asked.

"I'm alright," The centaur said. James ignored the obvious wounds that were scattered across the other's body.

They sat in silence for a moment. James focused on the monsters in the other room, making sure they weren't planning to come back.

"My name is James, by the way," He added.

"I am Chiron, little one," He whispered.

"That's a cool name," James said. "I haven't met anyone with a name like that before."

Chiron smiled gently. "It's a very old name," He said.

"How old?"

Chiron got a distant look in his eyes. "Thousands of years old," He said.

"Really?" James asked. "Do you think you could tell me about the previous world, then?"

"What?"

"You know," James said. "The world before all of… this."

"I could," Chiron said. "I'll tell you the real story. I'm one of the few people who truly know it, now."

James settled in on the floor, finding a comfortable position.

"Let's see," Chiron mused. "Where to begin."

"There used to be these heroes," He started. "I used to be their trainer. I used to prepare them to do great things, starting at a very young age. I helped get them ready to deal with the threats of the world, and then they went out and saved hundreds of people."

"What happened to them?" James asked.

Chiron smiled painfully.

"There was a terrible person, with an incredible amount of power. He could manipulate time, and make it go slower or faster, or freeze it all together. His name was Kronos. He wanted to take over the world, and destroy and build it again in his image. I trained the heroes to stop him, but… they couldn't. Kronos struck too soon, and the heroes were unprepared. They were all killed. Kronos won, and now this world is…"

Chiron gestured to the world around them.

"What were they like?" James asked.

"They were going to save the world. They had been through the worst of struggles, and they could still find it in themselves to laugh and smile. One of them, his name was Percy, was in love with this girl names Annabeth, and she was in love with him. They were inseparable, but they never got to confess to each other. There was a pair of siblings that loved to prank everyone. They never stopped doing that up until the very end, even when no one expected them to keep going. Everyone appreciated the humor, even if they never said so. Some of them loved to garden, others were obsessed with building things, some of them liked to read and learn. They were people, they were young, and none of them deserved to die like that."

Chiron fell silent.

James waited.

"I miss them. More than you could ever know, child."

Chiron's eyes drifted to the side, lost in memories. In that moment, he looked similar to James's mother, in the moments she was missing her other half.

There was more silence, but it wasn't unwelcome.

James glanced up at the ceiling. Someone had built this room, long ago, before he was born. He wondered, idly, what they did in here. Maybe this room was part of a shop, or a house. Maybe someone who lived here had a passion for music and art, and dreamed of falling in love.

For a moment, the other world didn't seem as perfect as he usually pictured it. There hadn't been peace. Chiron had been teaching people how to fight against a terrible threat. In a world of peace, what need was there for violence. In a world of peace, would a future this terrible even be possible?

His perspective wasn't quite shattered, but it was damaged beyond repair.

He shook the thought off, and glanced back at the cage Chiron was in. He needed to distract himself.

"How did you get in here?" James asked.

Chiron glanced up from his thoughts as well. "I'm not quite sure," he said. "I don't remember. One moment, I was facing Kronos alone, in front of the heroes, and the next I was here."

"Maybe I can free you?" James said, slowly starting to run with the idea. "If I get you out, then you can come back with me. You can train us like you did the heroes. Then we can defeat Kronos, and the world can go back to the way it was. We can be happy! We can be free, all of us!"

Chiron looked down. "I cannot," He said.

"Why?" James asked, his dream rapidly fading.

"If they see my disappearance, they will exact more revenge upon humanity. Either way, it isn't possible for me to get out of here. And I wouldn't be able to force myself to train any more heroes. They all die painfully, because I trained them, and I refuse to let any more death fall on my shoulders."

"But you can't just stay here," James said. "They were hurting you."

"I can manage this, child. And you should hurry to get out. The monsters usually come back soon."

James swallowed, desperately trying to hold on to something. "I'll be back, okay?" He whispered.

"Don't," Chiron said. "Don't try and overpower Kronos, and don't try and train any others. I've seen the truth. They all die, every single one of them. Time is the only thing that can fix these horrors."

James shook his head slowly. "I don't want to believe that."

"You have to, at least for the present moment. Now go."

James stepped backwards, before turning and creeping out of the room. He glanced back at Chiron once, who had turned his gaze back to the floor, before slipping out of the building without any incident.

James sprinted back to the small colony, vision blurred. Nothing made sense anymore. He knew time was what the world needed, but he had always thought that he could help see the world become better.

These last few hours had taken that all away. He couldn't focus on anything.

At home, his mother was frantic, hugging him fiercely and making him promise to never do it again.

James didn't think he would have the courage to sneak out anymore anyway. He just hugged his mother tight and pretended he was returning home from school after a bad day, and that all of this was just a bad nightmare he had dreamt the previous night.

Around them, the world continued to burn.

 **A/N: Thanks for reading, and please review!**

 **~DreamingCerulean**

 **Published: September 2nd, 2018**


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